Downtown Focus Committee disbanded

Doneen Durling

Friday

Sep 9, 2016 at 8:30 AM

ASHBURNHAM - Taking into consideration the town’s recent vote not to approve a $7.9 million Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion tax override sought for a new Department of Public Works building, selectmen voted on Tuesday to disband the Downtown Focus Committee after determining it was having difficulty maintaining focus on its mission.

ASHBURNHAM - Taking into consideration the town’s recent vote not to approve a $7.9 million Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion tax override sought for a new Department of Public Works building, selectmen voted on Tuesday to disband the Downtown Focus Committee after determining it was having difficulty maintaining focus on its mission.

Selectman Duncan Phyfe, chairman of the Downtown Focus Committee, said that after much consideration selectmen decided it was time to sit back and regroup.

“I believe that what people brought to the town meeting concerning environmental issues may have had some merit. There are no guarantees the (current DPW) site is clean enough for development,” said Phyfe in an interview later.

Phyfe said that in 2006-2007 there was a “boatload” of work done that the board had never questioned. He said a Phase I study was done, but maybe a second study should have followed.

“I am not happy, but we need to sit back and do more research, make a corrective plan, and move it forward,” he said.

Phyfe said that those involved in the planning process sometimes get so close to the project that they can’t see what could be concerns.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the board was supposed to talk about bringing a trailer on the DPW site in order to house the office staff. But it was decided they would wait until Douglas Briggs comes back as interim town administrator before deciding on what could be done.

Current interim Town Administrator Sylvia Turcotte said that the area in which the DPW administrative staff works daily is in need of intense rehabilitation. Turcotte noted that no money has been spent on repairing what was falling in at the site because they assumed it would be a waste of funds.

“It really needed a lot of work, but they kept putting it off because what they thought was going to happen. It’s the last building in town that needs to be built. We have a new school, this town hall was refurbished, we have the new public safety building, and the library is in good shape now. It’s just the DPW now. That’s it.”

Turcotte said the Downtown Focus Committee had a hard time focusing on what could be done. She said she knew people understood something must be done.

“I think (the committee) needed to disband and get some new fresh ideas,” she said.

Turcotte agreed that the DPW site was a large part of bringing life into downtown. She said there were many additions to the downtown area that made it a destination place, such as the Frederick Piano Collection, the sushi restaurant, and the newly revamped art and gift gallery.

“Moving the DPW would have been ideal because that’s a great spot,” she said.

Phyfe said he was not too sure he would be on the board the next time a committee is formed, and he was unsure he would sign on for a second time around. Both he and Turcotte said they hoped a few of the 189 voters that came to vote against the project would step up and join the newly formed committee to share their ideas and concerns.

Turcotte said there is talk of bringing a part-time planner on board who would make sure all concerns are addressed before a proposal is brought for a vote.

Phyfe said the Planning Board was in need of help, and there was also a need for someone to maintain a connection with the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission.

Phyfe said they would have to see what the budget would allow.

There were 189 residents at the last Town Meeting to vote on the new DPW building, which lost 88-97. Ashburnham has about 4,000 registered voters.

The selectmen set the next Town Meeting for Oct. 25. Though the agenda is not yet set in stone and the amount has not been determined, Turcotte said it is typical in the fall meeting to resolve where the certified free cash will be used.

Briggs will return from his retirement on Sept. 15 and take up the mantle of interim town administrator until the new town administrator is found and in place.

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